Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Tatar prepares to head up the ice with San Jose's Joe Pavelski in pursuit.The Associated Press

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings played a gritty game Monday against the team with the best record in the NHL, the San Jose Sharks.

They blocked shots, they were much more physical than the bigger Sharks, they limited San Jose’s scoring opportunities better than any team has this season.

Problem was, the Red Wings didn’t generate much themselves.

Logan Couture scored the only goal of the shootout to lead the Sharks to a 1-0 victory at Joe Louis Arena.

The Sharks improved to 8-0-1. The Red Wings are 6-3-1.

Antti Niemi made 24 saves for his 24th career shutout. Jimmy Howard also is credited with a shutout, the 17th of his career.

Both clubs were missing key players.

The Red Wings were without their top defense pairing, as Niklas Kronwall missed his second game due to a mild concussion and Jonathan Ericsson didn’t play after his fiancé delivered the couple’s first child earlier in the day.

The Sharks didn’t have their top defenseman, Dan Boyle, or key forward /former defenseman Brent Burns.

The Red Wings held the Sharks to 27 shots, well below their league-leading average of 40.3 per game. Limiting shots and scoring chances was one of the Red Wings’ objectives, after allowing 30 or more shots in each of their previous seven games.

“This team takes a lot of shots, they make it hard on you,’’ coach Mike Babcock said before the game. “We’re a team that gives up too many shots, so I don’t know if that’s a good combination or a bad combination, but it’s a test.”